Alexander palter



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. PALTER. CONSTRUCTION OF THEATERS:

No 894,130. Patented Dec. 4, 1888.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. PALTER. CONSTRUCTION OF THEATERS.

No. 394,130. Patented Dec. 4, 1888.

i lifrzff/ei Z2 5 I 7 'l I W N. PETERS. Pholoiiflvaqmpher. Wnuhingmn. n.c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALEXANDER PALTER, OF VIENNA,AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

CONSTRUCTION OF THEATERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,130, dated December4, 1888.

Application filed April 11, 1888. Serial No. 270,356. (No model.)

tion of Theaters, of which the following is a specifieatioi 1.

In order to render possible a rapid and safe departure of the spectatorsand to avoid the thronging or crowding of people, several arrangementswere made after the fires in Vienna, Paris, Nice, &c., for the safety ofthe theaters, consisting, especially, in augmenting the number ofoutlets without taking into consideration that, besides thataugmentation of 011111 it is necessary to compel the publie todistribute themselves uniformly to the outlets, so that a small (more orless equal) number of persons is admitted to each outlet and those oneby one or in small groups. The augmentation of the outlets has proveditself, therefore, quite useless, as well as the use of an iron curtain.

The object of this present invention consists in distrilnltingintheaters the staircases, entrances and exits, the seats, and standingroom in such a manner that every person has a predetermined way in andout of the theater, so that in event of a sudden emptying of the theaterin case of accident or panic every person must follow his own prescribedway, so that a crowding of persons at the several outlets is entirelyprevented. As soon as the public arrive in the corridors, the doorsleading to the auditm'ium close automatically, so that the public arealready saved at this moment, since smoke, &c., cannot pass there, owingto the automatically-closing doors.

Before explaining the particulars of my invention I must remark that thetheater constructed in accordance with my invention comprises only thestage, with dressing-moms,

green-rooms,) auditorium, with corridors and retiring-rooms, vestibule,with cloak-rooms and staircases, sundry offices, store-rooms,ticket-offices, sitting-rooms, binaries, painting-rooms,rehearsal-rooms, and propertyrooms. Machines for ventilation, lighting,&c., ought to be placed in annexed lniildings.

The stage ought to be disconnected 011 all sides and overt-op the wholeof the other building, being covered, fire-proof, and provided with alarge chimney for the waste gases and foul air.

From the green-rooms of the actors, as well as from separate parts ofthe scene, separate doors or outlets ought to lead directlyinto thestreet or into a corridor opening toward the street. The arrangement ofthese outlets, as well as the construction and disposition of the stage,is no object of this present invention, and is therefore not shown inthe annexed drawings.

The auditorium is surrounded, as may be seen in the annexed drawings, bya wide and roomy corridor, (I, of about three meters width, and the sameis surrounded by a corridor, h, of the same width, being open toward thestreet. The first-mentioned corridor has .at the height or level of thefourth gallery of the second-box floor and of the pit several doors oroutlets, c, closing automatically outward, (preferably folding glassdoors,) whereas in the first and third box floor windows are to beapplied.

From three vestibules lead entrances into the interior of thetheater,viz: From the large main vestibule at the front side of the theateropposite to the stage lead two staircases, d, at the right and leftdirect to the fourth gallery, two staircases, e e, (also at the rightand left,) lead to the second-box floor, and, thirdly, two staircases, ff, in the first-box tloor. These staircases are situated, as maybe seenin the annexed drawings, symmetrically at the right and left in thevestibule, and in such a manner that no staircase communicates withanother. Between these staircases leads a corridor, g, into the pit.From each of the two sides or secondary vestibules, laterally from theauditorium and from the stage, for instance, to the right: and left ofthe orchestra, a staircase, 71, leads separately, and staircase i ileadsto the third tier of boxes. Besides, there may be arranged two furtherstaircases, 7; 7);, (in the drawings are represented two spiralstaircases for the fourth gallery.)

in the annexed drawings are represented in a plan view the pit, Sheet l,and the fourth floor or gallery, Sheet II, with an auditorium for aboutone thousand to ten hundred and fifty persons. The drawings are onlyskeleton drawings or sketches without any architectural instruction.

As my invention only refers to the pit and gallery auditorium, there arerepresented but those two plan views. The box-floors, where danger isnot to be apprehended, may be constructed. and arranged in the usualmanner. In the vestibule may be arranged the ticketoffices andwardrobes. It must be, however, observed that the wardrobes areconstructed of fire-proof material. The boxes are preferably constructedof iron, with outward ly-opcning and automatically-closing doors.

In order to understand my invent-ion, I will now describe theparticulars.

I. The pif.-The pit is in the beginning on the level of the vestibuleand of the corridors. Projecting thresholds and steps must be avoided.Only the inner real auditorium is to slope with steps toward the stage,so that each row is situated a step lower. The pit can be arranged onlyfor seats; or it may be provided with standing-rooin. In the latter casethe whole pit or floor is divided by aiattice or barrier, 1, parallel tothe stage, in two parts, in such a manner that the larger part adjacentto the stage forms the stalls or better class of seats, and the otherone the standingroom or pit. Throughout the whole length of the pit andperpendicularly to the stage is arranged a lattice or barrier, Z, whichdivides the stalls in two equal halves.

The walls inclosing the pitof the auditorium are provided with largeopenings, so that only pillars in support the upper brick-work ormasonry. In these openings are provided small iron doors n, preferablyhermetically and automatically closing and opening out wardly, one doorfor every row. From each of the several doors lead small but solid andfire-proof staircases to the respective rows of seat and standingplaces, and a barrier, 0, separates the several rows, so that everycommunication between the rows is prevented. At the standing places aseparate barrier or lattice, p, extends to the middle barrier, Z, andseparates the rows. This barrier, which may have the breast height of aman, is very comfortable for the public. )Vhat will be the consequenceof a such-arranged separation (division) of the pit in case of anaccident or panic? Every spectator will leave his seat and take his ownway, which is prescribed to him by the guidance of the barriers, thewhole people will go slowly and in separate rows to the outlets, and aslarge doors (opposite to the small iron doors) lead into the open air itis a matter of course that every accumulation or throngin g isprevented. As shown in the drawings, (which serve only as examples forillustrating,) fourteen outlets lead from the corridor 1) into thestreet, and as the pit receives three hundred and sixty persons, and asthe longest distance a person has to make is twenty-five meters, itresults: from every row comes every person in three seconds into thecorridor of three meters width, and as there are twelve persons in everyrow these twelve persons want thirty-six seconds to arrive at thecorridors. In these thirty-six seconds the whole pit is empty. Everyperson wants, besides, three seconds to come across the corridor in theopen air, so that this part of the building is empty in one minutetwelve seconds.

The emptying of the boxes is of course just as quick and every danger isprevented, inasmuch as every box-floor (tier of boxes) has its own twoseparate spacious stairs and foyers.

It is a chief requisite that all doors open outwardly and closeautomatically, and that upon every door is marked by an arrow or handthe direction of outlet. The seats in. the pit are not numbered. Onlythe several rows are provided with current (continuous) numbers, and thefirst coming person has to occupy the place toward the middle. It is notallowed to sell more tickets than. seats existing.

Description of the fourth floor, (fourth gallery, (Sheet II.-This partof the auditorium is also a double one and provided with seats andstanding places. The whole space is divided similarly to the pit intoseveral compartments (four in the drawings) by means of barriers q. Eachcompartment has amphitheater seats and standing places. From thecorridor a separate iron door, 1', leads to every row, and from thedoors lead iron or stone steps down to the rows. Each of the severalrows sepa rated from the next by barriers .9, so that everycommunication is impossible. The large mentioned corridor a is providedwith a great number (fifteen in the drawings) of folding doors openingoutwardly, which lead either to the open. corridor 1) or to thestaircases. Four to six, or more stairs lead to the street. The emptyingof a gallery so constructed may be eflected in two minutes or less.Here, also, only the rows are to be numbered as for the pit. Thelighting of the theater may be an arbitrary one; but it is preferable toemploy an electrical lighting for the stage and gas for the auditoriumand for the corridors. As the large first corridor possesses toward thestreet windows or doors, one must place in the street gas-burners atsuch places that they may light the corridors through these windows fromwithout, so that in case of an internal darkness the corridor islighted. It must be, however, observed that these burners are fed fromthe main pipe of the street, so that they are in no communication withthe service gas-pipe in the theater; also, the burners in the corridors,foyers, and vestibules must have their own separate gasometers.

' Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is

1. In theaters, the several floors thereof divided into compartments bysuitable barriers, said compartments being divided or separated into acertain number of separate rows which lead to a common corridor, thelatter being closed by doors, opposite to which other doors lead to theoutside of the building, whereby communication between the several rowsis impossible.

2. In. thoa tersflhe fire-proof and autonmtition in The presence of twosubscribing Witeally-elosing doors located at the openings nessee.

leading to the several seat or standing rows T v w 1n order to separatethe and1t01'1 um from the ALEXA) DER PAT 1 LR 5 surrounding corridors,Substantially as de- \Vitnesses:

described. EDMUND JUssEN,

In testimonywhereof I Sign fllis specifica- OTTO SCHIFFER.

